User Ratings & Reviews

A: Pours a murky red color. A minimal bubbly head forms, and vanishes in a second. No lace. Looks a little lifeless.
S: Light tart apples, honey like sweetness, light wood.
T: Follows the nose with a light tartness of apples, some wood, and sweetness lingering. Some alcohol heat in the chest.
M/D: A lighter body than I was expecting. Thin, and under carbonated. Some heat makes this a slow sipper, and really more of a one and done.

Not bad to try once, but not something I am going to seek out. Simple, a little muddled, and under carbonated.

Pint at Meddlesome moth in Dallas...
reviewing off my notes, apologies for the shortness.

head dissipates quickly, and the nose is bourbon with some fruitiness to indicate the brandy. Vanilla and oak sneak in there with the obvious oak aging process. Taste is right on par with the nose, bourbon with a faint fruitiness, vanilla and oaky with a very sweet finish.
This is much thinner than I was expecting, and too thin for my taste... something that holds this bourbon flavor should be thicker in my opinion. Booze heat is well hidden if you dont think of the bourbon flavor as being boozy.
not too shabby 512.

Appearance: Arrives with a modest ecru head that sits atop the cloudy amber liquid and leaves some splashy lace

Smell: Graham cracker, brown sugar, vanilla and dates

Taste: Graham cracker and dates, u front, with the brown sugar and vanilla elements arriving just behind; by mid-palate the oaky, Brandy flavors add complexity that lingers into a finish that is sweet, but oaky

Mouthfeel: Medium to full body with moderate carbonation and some warmth on the finish

Drinkabiity: Rather light for a BSDA, if that is what 512 was aiming for; I prefer more dark fruit and less sweetness

Poured on tap at my local brewpub “Whip In.” This was my second beer from (512) Brewing today, the first being the pretty good IPA, but was hoping more from this one and I was not disappointed.

A: Nice amber color that remains transparent. It produced a small head that dissipates fast and exhibited little to no lacing.

S: Sweet malts that smell like brandy backed up with a hint of hops and spice that finally give way to dark fruits.

T: Brandy still evident in the taste and overall the beer was very sweet, but it did finish with a bit of hops and spice.

M: Medium bodied that had more carbonation than expected.

O: Different than other Belgian Strong Ale’s I’ve had in the past, probably due to the brandy barrels. Kinda tasted more like a Barleywine (which I love) so in closing, if you see this beer I think it’s worth your time at least for a try.

Aroma: Dominated by brandy, but complimented by fruity esters form the Belgian yeast strain. Banana, clove, citrusy aromas and an earthiness are all blended together nicely.

Taste: A little sweet for my taste and a strong brandy flavor. The brandy flavor almost overwhelms the other more subtle fruit flavors. I think this beer could use a little more time developing and integrating the flavors a little better.

Mouthfeel: Light and effervescent very enjoyable to drink. It’s still a little boozy at this point, which makes it slightly more difficult to drink, but an enjoyable none the less.

Overall: I enjoyed it and look forward to more barrel aged products from (512). I hope that they choose to bottle some in the future so I could cellar it for a while.

On tap at the Whip In. This is the brewery's first anniversary (which will be re-released as a seasonal each summer) beer, aged in brandy barrels. As far as I know, this is a one-off beer.

The beer pours a hazy amber color with a white head. The aroma is very complex. I get a lot of brandy notes, but I also get some grapes, dark fruit, caramel malt and alcohol. The flavor is just as nice. I get a a lot of brandy and oak notes, with some alcohol, grape and dark fruit notes. I also get quite a bit of vanilla and brown sugar notes. The mouthfeel is a little bit thinner than I like and the carbonation is about medium and is just right for the style. The beer tastes a lot like brandy and is a very interesting take on barrel-aging. Very nice.

Drinkability: Good considering the heavy brandy taste, a very interesting beer. I hope brandy barrel aging can gain more of a presence as an alternative to bourbon barrel aging.
---

ONE (non-barrel aged) is listed as being 8% ABV, I think there must be a mistake having this listed as only 8% as well, but can't find anymore information from 512's website. Tastes and feels more of the 11-12% range, would be hard to believe it's below 10%.

So I had this beer again two weeks later, and it was not nearly as good as it was the first time. Same keg? Dirty tap lines? Had a weird sour off taste that lingered... hmm.... I'm not going to change my rating for the site, but here under the review I'd give the Taste, Mouthfeel and Drinkability all 3's the second time around. It was pretty underwhelming.